Historical Articles

May, 1953 issue of Plating

Mail Box

Subject:
Electroplating in New Zealand

DEAR SIR:
Our trip to Australia was scheduled to start on February 3 but an attack
of flu compelled me to postpone our departure till February 9, and to cancel
a scheduled
talk to the Dallas-Fort Worth Branch. In Los Angeles, I spoke to the A.
E. S. Branch.

When we originally planned to spend
a week in New Zealand en route to Australia, I had no knowledge or thought
of any electroplating
industry in that country.
However, officials of the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research (DSIR) learned of my visit and requested me to give the following
talks on the research work of the N. B. S. and A. E. S. :

Feb. 20—Auckland
Manufacturers’ Association, including a group
of platers
Feb. 23—A joint meeting of the N. Z. Institute of Chemistry and
the Royal Society of New Zealand at Victoria University College in
Wellington
Feb. 2 The Manufacturers Association and Electroplaters of Wellington
Feb. 26—The Manufacturers Association and Electroplaters of Christ Church

At each of these meetings there
were about 30 persons present and many questions were asked after each lecture.

With
so short a time as one week in New Zealand, it was not possible for me
to make any detailed study of electroplating practice here.
There are
no large
manufacturing
plants in New Zealand, and hence no large plating plants. In the
three principal cities, there are a total of about 50 plating shops, some
of which are quite
small. In each city the platers have an informal group, organized
under
the Manufacturers’ Association,
but not affiliated with any society.

A few plating plants are connected
with manufacturing firms; others are job platers, whose work
may consist partly of new products
and partly
of replating.

Most of the plating supplies,
bright nickel baths and equipment are purchased from England, largely because
funds
can be sent
from New
Zealand to other “sterling” countries,
but not to others such as U. S. A. I did not learn of any members
of the A. E. S. here, again in part because they cannot send
out funds. I learned of
only
one copy of PLATING here in the DSIR office in Wellington.
This government organization is assisting various industries,
and
inquiries were made as to
how they might
help electroplating.

Among other ways, I suggested the
organization of classes for platers, and the acquisition and distribution
of more literature
on plating
from England
and U.
S. A.

New Zealand is a young,
vigorous country that is handicapped in plating, as in many other fields,
by their
isolation,
being about
10,000 miles
from U.
S. A.
or England and 1,500 miles from Australia. The country
is larger than one would first judge from a map, but is very
mountainous,
with marvelous
scenery.
Everywhere,
Mrs. Blum and I have been very cordially welcomed and entertained
by platers’ groups.
Our only regret is that we did not include a longer visit
here.

In Auckland, we were met and assisted
by the American Consul. In Wellington, we were greeted by the American
Ambassador,
Mr. Scotten
and his military
aide, Col. Heim.

W. BLUM
Christ Church, New Zealand

Subject: First Impression of Australia

DEAR
SIR:
Three weeks in Australia have given Mrs. Blum and me
an opportunity to form some idea of the country,
the people
and the activities.

The best way to record our enthusiasm
over the friendliness and hospitality of our hosts is to
summarize briefly
the events of
our busy schedule.

When we arrived at the Melbourne
Airport on February 27, we were met by the A. E. S. Convention Committee
and their
wives,
who
gave us a
cordial welcome.
Two
days later, this Committee and the Executive
Board of the Melbourne Branch gave a tea for
us at which
we became
acquainted
with
these men and their
wives.

They provided for us a daily schedule
of plant visits, lectures and sightseeing trips, which
have kept us
busy and happy.
The first week was spent largely in visits
to become acquainted with the officials of
the Defence
Department,
the General
Motors-Holden plant, the
American Consulate,
the U. S. Military Attache, and others who
helped to plan the program. We had the pleasure
of visiting
Mr.
Brens,
the Lord
Mayor of Melbourne,
who
invited
us to have “tea” with him.

Our
second week was spent in Tasmania, the
southernmost location in our trip. At Hobart
and Launceston,
lectures on electrodeposition
and
on
corrosion were given to local branches
of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
At Hobart,
a visit was made to the Electrolytic Zinc
Works, the second largest in the
world, that produces daily 300 tons of
zinc and a ton of cadmium. There are almost no
plating plants in Tasmania, where the principal
products are sheep and apples.

We returned
to Melbourne on March 15. On March 17, a lecture on Corrosion Testing
was given
to a large
meeting
of the
Melbourne Chemical Institute.
Following the
lecture and discussion, the films on
corrosion, prepared by Frank La Que of International
Nickel Company,
were shown.

My first formal contact
with the Melbourne Branch of A. E. S. was on March 19, when
their meeting
was attended
by 110
persons.
I
was much
pleased
to be made
the first Honorary Member of the Melbourne
Branch. I also
had the honor of presenting past-president
buttons to eight past
presidents
of this
Branch. I gave a lecture,
illustrated with slides, upon the “Electroplating
Researches of the ;National Bureau
of Standards”, which was followed
by questions and discussions.

We have
had remarkably clear weather. This
is the beginning of-Fall, and
cool weather
is expected,
as we did experience
in New Zealand’ and Tasmania.
But in Melbourne in the past few
weeks they have had a hot spell,
with temperatures
up to 101° F. Mrs. Blum feels
that this was’-done for her
special benefit, as she dislikes
cold weather.

Thus far, I have visited
only a few
plating plants, most of these are
relatively small, but modern
methods and
equipment are in
use.

The local members have expressed
their appreciation to the A.
E. S. Executive
Board for their
interest in and
contribution
toward;
this
trip. We feel
that such contacts as these will
not only establish a closer and
more cordial
contact
between the
A. E. S.
and its Australian
Branches,
but
will also
contribute
toward
a better understanding between
our nations, now so important
to this
troubled world.
We are happy
and
proud to do
our small part
in this
effort.

WILLIAM BLUM

Subject: Dr.
Schaefer’s
Proposal
for Proceedings

DEAR SIR:
Dr. Ralph Shaefer’s proposal in the March issue of PLATING to consolidate
all the technical publications
of the Society in one bound’ volume issued
annually, without curtailing
in any way the monthly publication of PLATING as it now appears is to be highly
commended. It should be particularly appreciated
after last year’s
Proceedings (1951), which
indexes several
convention papers and then
refers the reader to one
or more issues of PLATING
where the
paper and discussion were
published, sometimes in
two issues.

Speaking as
one member,
am heartily in’ favor
of Dr. Schaefer’s
proposal and would be
willing to pay extra
to get it,
but since it is offered
at no
extra
cost, I can see no valid
reason for not adopting
it.

The information contained in this site is provided for your review and convenience. It is not intended to provide legal advice with respect to any federal, state, or local regulation.
You should consult with legal counsel and appropriate authorities before interpreting any regulations or undertaking any specific course of action.

Please note that many of the regulatory discussions on STERC refer to federal regulations. In many cases, states or local governments have promulgated relevant rules and standards
that are different and/or more stringent than the federal regulations. Therefore, to assure full compliance, you should investigate and comply with all applicable federal, state and local regulations.